When you’re coming out of an injury from a workplace accident or a motor vehicle crash, the initial exercise program can be challenging. Even though your pain is diminishing, there’s more to life than your pain level. You may want to put on your clothes without contorting your body, sit comfortably on a car ride, pick up a bag of groceries, or manage your modified work duties.
The first 6 weeks of rehab are often less about “getting back to normal” and more about meeting the next realistic goal. In fact, occupational therapy and kinesiology can integrate seamlessly with each other.
Basic Function
It becomes apparent early on during rehab what we take for granted. Socks, shampoo, counters, and even getting into and out of a vehicle are just a few examples. You may start paying more attention to the mechanics of these movements.
Occupational therapy will focus on these barriers. This is when your occupational therapist will examine how your injury impacts your ability to function at home, at work and on the road. Then they’ll come up with strategies to facilitate your daily life without compromising your healing. They may help modify your activities, change movement sequences, or provide other tools to support you until your pain and mobility improve.
In addition, your kinesiology program starts the process of rebuilding confidence in your movement. Safe movement will begin to look a little more like normal movement, rather than guarded movement.
The goal isn’t to force your way through pain. It’s to get to a point where you have enough functional movement to make your daily life easier.
Building Capacity
As you gain confidence in your movement, your focus may shift to endurance. Perhaps you can only drive for short distances, or can’t lift the same amount repeatedly during a workday.
This is where the fields of kinesiology and occupational therapy intersect; the practical side of Symmetry Injury Rehabilitation starts there.
Occupational therapy can help break down your daily routine:
- How you get ready for work
- Working on your feet or in a seated position
- Transferring items
- Meeting your modified duties
Kinesiology can then build the physical capacity to support these activities. Movement exercises could focus on your posture, lifting mechanics, balance, joint mobility, and your ability to gradually increase your strength. The purpose of exercise, which Cochrane covers at www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr, is not to do it for its own sake, but rather to complete a particular activity more efficiently.
For instance, you may be recovering from a back or shoulder injury and your goal is to lift your kid without straining or holding your breath. The goal can guide your progression.
A good indicator of your readiness is how you feel after the activity, not just during it. Slight symptom increase that returns to baseline by the following morning is generally acceptable; worsening or radiating pain that prevents sleep may indicate that an adaptation is needed.
You can discuss these findings with your team and modify volume, rest periods, equipment configuration or load in advance to prevent a minor flare from disrupting your schedule.
Keeping a basic activity journal can uncover trends that might be easy to overlook. Track the activity, how long you did it, the symptoms later in the day, the symptoms the following morning, and any remedies that you tried. This provides more useful information for your healthcare team to make adjustments.
Work and Setbacks
Going back to work is exciting but also daunting. Your modified duties may ease the physical demand, but you still need to pace yourself. It’s easy to overdo it on a good day, and then experience a setback on a bad day.
Your occupational therapy will help you adjust to your new routines. Kinesiology will support you by building your confidence and increasing your tolerance to safe loads. This may be a better alternative than being told to “take it easy.”
However, what if the modified duties are lighter, but still involve the same motion that causes pain?
Sometimes, recovery has ups and downs. You may feel better some days, but worse on others. Progress can mean something different depending on where you are in your rehab journey. It may mean being able to put on your shirt without compensating, commuting without being stiff, or not worrying about lifting your groceries.
Identify one daily task that still gives you trouble and bring it to your next appointment.
